This invention relates generally to eyeglasses and more particularly to glasses adapted for reducing glare, e.g., from the headlights of an approaching vehicle during night driving.
Glare is well-known to interfere with normal vision and can be a source of irritation of the eye, even to the extent of causing temporary blindness. The glare from the sun or, at night, approaching vehicle headlights, is a long recognized source of danger, impaired vision, fatigue and irritation to unprotected drivers. The danger increases with extended time of driving and causes many drivers to limit or even avoid driving at night altogether. A number of anti-glare devices having varying configurations have been devised in an effort to address this problem. However, each of these known devices has at least one disadvantage solved by the present invention.
Certain patents have issued describing devices which purportedly address the problem of glare. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,296 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 2,511,776 to Kelly; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,706,429 to Willard each describe glare-reducing eyeglasses comprising fixedly mounted lenses having transparent and translucent regions of a particularly defined geometry. However, the inability to adjust the lenses relative to the frame in these devices imparts a particular disadvantage of being unable to optimize the glare-reducing capability for each individual wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,047 to Badewitz describes glare-reducing glasses comprising wrap-around filter lenses supported on a single frame. Although the assembly taught by Badewitz can be coupled to prescription eyeglasses via a mechanical clip, and the lenses repositioned, the lenses are not freely adjustable to the individual wearer. Repositioning of the Badewitz device requires adjusting the length and shape of the mechanical coupling clip. Consequently, the lenses can not be individually adjusted.
Mosher, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,687,524 describes an adjustable and removable eyeshade for eyeglasses. The Mosher eyeshade comprises a pair of tinted strips connected at their inner edges by a coil spring. The strips each have hooks at their uppermost and lowermost edges for gripping the edges of the eyeglass frame. Horizontal or vertical shade adjustment requires adjusting the bend in one or more of the hooks. The device includes numerous mechanically-dependent components. Furthermore, as a result of the configuration of the assembly, individual shade adjustment is not possible.
Other known glare-reducing devices incorporate shading means whereby glare-reduction results in the scope of vision of one or both eyes being at least partially impeded. Furthermore, known anti-glare devices suffer a number of additional, non performance- related, disadvantages. For instance, many existing glare-reducing devices are comprised of complicated assemblies having numerous individual components. As a result, lens adjustment is relatively complicated; in some cases, requiring the use of a tool such as a screwdriver.
For the foregoing reasons, it would be desirable to have a wearable anti-glare device having freely adjustable lenses capable of effectively minimizing the transmission of glare toward the eyes of the wearer. The device should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, have a minimal number of components, and be simple enough for the wearer to quickly adjust, if necessary, without the requirement of tools. Such advantages, and others which will be readily apparent by the description and drawings provided herein below, are accomplished by the subject invention.
It is an object of this invention to provide a glare-reducing optical assembly particularly useful for night driving to prevent glare from headlights of an approaching vehicle from interfering with the vision of the wearer while operating a vehicle.
It is another object of this invention to provide such an optical assembly adaptable for being coupled to a set of spectacles or eyeglasses or, alternatively, adaptable for being worn as a set or pair of eyeglasses.
It is yet another object this invention to provide an optical assembly capable of effectively reducing the glare, e.g., glare associated with the headlights of an approaching vehicle, without requiring the wearer to. alter the position of his head in order to properly position the optical assembly for reducing glare.
It a further object of this invention to provide an optical assembly that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, has a minimal number of individual components, and includes easily adjustable lenses so that normal vision is maintained at the focal point of the field of vision, i.e., immediately in front of the pupils, of the wearer and the light-shading aspect of the invention remains outside the focal point of the wearer""s vision.
Preferably, the light shading aspect of the invention comprises a translucent or shaded area of each lens and defines a non-shaded area, e.g., a transparent area, having a tip or apex substantially coinciding with midpoint of the lens. Furthermore, it is preferred that each lens is adjustably positionable such that the pupil of the wearer""s eye, and thereby the field of vision of the wearer, is aligned with this apex of the transparent area. More preferably, the non-shaded,. e.g., transparent area defined by the translucent or shaded area, is V-shaped, or most preferably having an inverted V-shape.
It is yet a further object of the invention to provide a device or assembly for glare-reduction wherein the lenses are individually adjustable so that this position can be achieved and maintained for each individual wearer.
These and other objects are achieved with the assembly of the present invention. Briefly, according to one embodiment of the invention, a glare-reducing optical device includes an individually adjustable pair of lenses adapted with tab members for releasable attachment to the frame of a pair of glasses. Each lens comprises a non-shaded, e.g., transparent, area allowing light rays to pass through substantially unimpeded and a translucent area for impeding the transmission of light rays into the eyes or field of vision of the wearer. In particular, the non-shaded area of the lens, according to the subject device or assembly, remains positioned immediately in front of the pupil or field of vision of the wearer.
The subject invention further comprises a device having a frame for affixing the lens thereto to form a pair of glasses. The frame comprises a lens fixturing portion, and preferably, a pair of lens fixturing portions connected by a bridge member. More preferably, the frame comprises a unitary piece forming the lens fixturing portions and bridge member molded from a suitable material, e.g., plastic, composite, or lightweight metal. In a preferred embodiment, lens fixturing portions include rear and front portions adapted for securely fixturing the lenses to the frame. Preferably, the front and rear lens fixturing portions are formed in a pre-stressed manner so they spring away from each other, or splay, in order to easily receive lens tab members therebetween. The front and rear lens fixturing portions can also include a means for holding these portions together in a closed position to hold the lens in place.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, rear lens fixturing portion can include a at least one nub, and preferably at least two nubs or protrusions adapted for being snugly received by corresponding apertures formed in the front lens fixturing portion. In operation, front and rear lens fixturing portions can be splayed apart into an open position and lens tab member positioned such that the protrusions extend through corresponding slots correspondingly formed in the lens tab member. These slots are preferably dimensioned such that both horizontal and vertical lens adjustment is possible. With the lenses adequately positioned, rear and front lens fixturing portions can be fastened, e.g., clipped or snapped together, and thereby positionally affixing the lens in a fixed position. Preferably, front and rear fixturing portions include a means for fastening one to another. For example, front fixturing portion can include a clip such as a hooked, or C-shaped, end adapted for engaging and holding a corresponding end of rear fixturing portion. Preferably, the assembly can be attached to a pair of eyeglasses, via bridge member or nosepiece of the pair of glasses, using a mechanical fastening means such as a screw or a clip.
In an alternate embodiment, the assembly can further include a pair of arms, fashioned as earpieces, which can enable the device to function as alone as a pair of eyeglasses without requiring the assembly to be used in conjunction with a separate pair of eyeglasses. In this alternate embodiment it is preferable that the bridge member is shaped or contoured for being comfortably supported on the bridge of the wearer""s nose.